Tobacco Control has morphed into a crusade intent on demonizing both tobacco users and the industry supplying them. This blog examines and comments on scientific issues surrounding tobacco policies - and fallacies.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Scientific Evidence for E-Cigarettes

I am honored to join Drs. Riccardo Polosa and Pasquale
Caponnetto and their colleagues at the University of Catania in Italy as a
coauthor of a new scientific article on e-cigarettes published in Harm Reduction Journal (available here).We scientifically disprove the stated
premise of a recent NPR broadcast (here), “…little is known about the potential health effects [of e-cigarettes].”NPR “expert” Stanton Glantz stated that
“e-cigarettes today are the triumph of wishful thinking over data.”Our publication shows that e-cigarettes are
the triumph of scientific evidence over feigned ignorance.

For the benefit of members of the Flat Earth Society, I
reproduce our summary here:

“The dream of a tobacco-free, nicotine-free world is just
that—a dream. Nicotine’s beneficial effects include correcting problems with
concentration, attention and memory, as well as improving symptoms of mood impairments.
Keeping such disabilities at bay right now can be much stronger motivation to
continue using nicotine than any threats of diseases that may strike years and
years in the future.

“Nicotine’s beneficial effects can be controlled, and the
detrimental effects of the smoky delivery system can be attenuated, by
providing the drug via less hazardous delivery systems. Although more research
is needed, e-cigs appear to be effective cigarette substitutes for inveterate
smokers, and the health improvements enjoyed by switchers do not differ from
those enjoyed by tobacco/nicotine abstainers.

“It is of paramount importance that government and trusted
health authorities provide accurate and truthful information about the relative
risks of smoking and alternatives to smoking. If the public continues to be
misled about the risks of THR products, millions of smokers will be dissuaded
from switching to these much less hazardous alternatives. One of us recently
wrote that, “It’s time to be honest with the 50 million Americans, and hundreds
of millions around the world, who use tobacco. The benefits they get from
tobacco are very real. It’s time to abandon the myth that tobacco is devoid of
benefits, and to focus on how we can help smokers continue to derive those benefits
with a safer delivery system” [reference here].

“In the absence of regulatory standards, it is important
that currently marketed products are of high quality. For example, the hardware
should be reliable and should produce vapour consistently. The liquids should
be manufactured under sanitary conditions and use pharmaceutical grade
ingredients, and labels should contain a list of all ingredients and an
accurate and standardized description of the nicotine content.

“According to a recent article by CDC researchers, the
proportion of U.S. adults who have ever used electronic cigarettes more than
quadrupled from 0.6% in 2009 to 2.7% in 2010 with an estimated number of
current electronic cigarette users of about 2.5 million [reference here]. Although rigorous studies are required to establish THR potential and long
term safety of electronic cigarettes, these figures clearly suggest that
smokers are finding these products helpful. If they were ineffective one would
not expect the market to take off as it is. Most importantly, even if this THR
product proves to be effective for only 25% of the smoking population, it could
save millions of lives world-wide over the next ten years.”

My Credentials

I am a Professor of Medicine at the University of Louisville, I hold an endowed chair in tobacco harm reduction research, and I am a member of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at U of L.

For the past 20 years I have been involved in research and policy development regarding tobacco harm reduction (THR). THR advocates acknowledge that there are millions of smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit with conventional cessation methods involving tobacco and nicotine abstinence, and we encourage them to use cigarette substitutes that are far safer.

My research has appeared in a broad range of medical and scientific journals. I have authored commentaries in the general press and I wrote the book, For Smokers Only: How Smokeless Tobacco Can Save Your Life. In 2003 I served as an expert witness at a Congressional hearing on tobacco harm reduction, and I have spoken at numerous international forums, including one held in London at the British Houses of Parliament.

My research is supported by unrestricted grants from tobacco manufacturers to the University of Louisville and by the Kentucky Research Challenge Trust Fund.